1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to telecommunication relay service (TRS) systems, and in particular, to message conversion systems and methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various federal and state laws and regulations require telecommunication carriers to provide services by which deaf customers can communicate with other deaf and hearing customers. The telecommunication carriers developed telecom relay services (TRS) in conjunction with telecommunication equipment vendors to link deaf customers to the other deaf and hearing customers. One particular TRS solution offered a TRS platform designed as a variation of the already established Operator Services platform, utilizing the Rockwell Galaxy to provide automatic call distributor (ACD) functions.
Rockwell designed the Galaxy in the 1970's and did not predict the need to incorporate the Galaxy into the TRS platform. Over the years, various deployments of the TRS platform have included new features and pushed the basic architecture well past its expected useful life. Rockwell has since discontinued the core Galaxy ACD and no longer produces spare parts. Additionally, the Rockwell Galaxy based TRS architecture does not meet recent federal and contractual technology requirements. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated three new services beyond current capabilities given the present technology of the TRS platform: SS7 for Caller-ID, Video Relay Services, and Internet Relay.
Video Relay requires the capability of ISDN to the desktop or conversion of inbound H.320, video protocols to H.323 and using TCP/IP to transport the video stream to the agent. Providing SS7 signaling for advanced call information processing requires using SS7 protocol signaling. Internet Relay requires the addition of TCP/IP within a relay center to replace NetBIOS protocols, and a Gateway Server to communicate with relay center subsystems to determine next available agents (i.e., the Rockwell ACD). Current TRS solutions such as the Rockwell Galaxy fall short of supporting the newly required and anticipated services.